This is the Miskin Law Blog. It is the blog of Murray H Miskin, a lawyer, arbitrator and mediator based in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The opinions expressed are personal ones and are not legal advice. It is a place for us to chat about the issues of the day and legal, political and environmental matters. You are encouraged to add a comment on any of our topics. It is not necessary to agree but be polite.

Sunday, 6 June 2010

What is Important?

What you see in the photos to your right is a world tragedy. Now with massive quantities of oil still shooting up into the Gulf of Mexico and moving to US shores it is the most important issue of our time. Will this disaster be an issue at the G20 meetings to be held in Toronto Canada later this month? Will they discuss the dangers of deep water oil drilling across the world? Sadly no. The 20 world leaders will meet in Toronto to plan a global economic agenda and argue over bank regulation. They have lost sight of basic issues of human survival. They show no interest in creating jobs or dealing with the problems of real people. This massive quantity of oil pouring out into the ocean is close to home now for many Americans whose future is being destroyed by the continuing and growing tragedy. It is the issue of the day in the United States. In Canada which is on course to have the flow of oil damage our east coast it is a prominent matter in the news and a concern to most Canadians. Canadians do care about the environment. Our current federal government does not. Our Prime Minister has been out campaigning against a world wide bank tax to protect against failure on the basis that our banking system is strong. A narrow political agenda dominates in Canada where apathy has taken over. The lack of serious federal opposition leadership as an alternative to Harper has resulted in an unpopular minority government which has continued in power for too long. The Government's popularity has declined further with the G8 and G20 budget fiascoes. Harper has taken Canada from being a world moral leader to being an irrelevant nation and an example of a country guided by short term self interest. The legacy of Canada's hosting is a joke about irresponsible spending (fake lake,etc.). Canada is spending a billion dollars on security to protect the leaders and intimidate and suppress protests against the G20 meetings. Toronto will have the eyes of the world turned to either rioting and brutality or quiet despair as the real problems of the day are ignored and more resources are wasted in irrelevant meetings. People in Toronto and Muskoka face massive restrictions of movement and traffic chaos which will empty the city streets of all but police and those brave enough to come out and protest. This will not make Canada and specifically Toronto a more desired tourist or convention destination. How do these meetings help Canada? They do not.

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You may comment here or to http://twitter.com/miskinlaw It is my hope to have more discussion and dialogue. Do not hesitate to comment on one or more of my Topics. We do screen all submissions in advance of publication to ensure that they are from real people and are appropriate for all readers. We have had many spam attempts lately and all are repelled. To reduce the spam further we have now stopped allowing anonymous submissions and brought in other security measures. If you are a real person with a real and relevant opinion it will be published whether you agree with me or not. Murray Miskin

Murray H. Miskin

Miskin Law Blogger-in-Chief

Biography

Murray H Miskin grew up in North York, a suburb of Toronto where he attended Sir Sandford Fleming Secondary School for grades 10 and 11 before being one of the founding students of the North York Board of Education's Alternative Independent Study Programme (AISP) where he completed Grades 12 and 13. He then attended Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics with minors in Philosophy and Economics. He then studied at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University graduating in 1979 with a Doctor Juris degree. While a student he was President of the Trent University Student Union, the Osgoode Hall Law School Student Council and the Ontario Federation of Students. He served as an Alumni representative on the Board of Governors of Trent University from July 2009 to July 2012 and continued to serve thereafter on the University Advancement Committee. He served as Vice President of the Trent University Alumni Association from 2013-2014. He is editor of the Cottage Country Connection Newspaper a monthly community newspaper based in Peterborough and the Kawartha Lakes. He has been a lawyer since 1981 and has his law firm's office in Peterborough, Ontario near his home at Stoney Lake. Murray is a Mediator and Arbitrator and has been the leading teacher of Arbitration in Ontario, Canada since 1985. Murray has operated the website http://adrworks.com since 1997. Murray has been very active in his profession through the ADR Institute of Canada, Inter American Bar Association (IABA), Canadian Bar Association (CBA and OBA), American Bar Association (ABA), Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), Advocates Society and Toronto Commercial Arbitration Society (TCAS). Murray was Chair of the Canadian Bar Association's Insurance Law Section for Ontario and Canada before being elected to the Executive of the CBA's National Sections Council which he chaired from 2007-2009. NSC Chair duties included serving on the Board of Directors and Finance Committee of CBA from 2007 to 2009. He completed two years as past chair of NSC in August 2011 and is currently an Executive Member of the National Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the CBA. Murray is married to Nancy Miskin (M.Sc.) since 1982 and they live at Stoney Lake in the Kawarthas. Murray and Nancy have a son Daniel Miskin born in 1989 who graduated in 2012 from Concordia University in Montreal after completing his Bachelors degree in Political Science in December 2011. Daniel is now working with the Miskin Law Offices after graduating law in June 2015 at the University of Southampton, England.